I walked by the doorkeeper to the building where I taught English and wished him goodnight. He was a friendly man in his seventies, and I often paused to chat briefly with him on my way to and from class. The summer break was right around the corn...

I listen to my friend as she tells me about the news report that I cannot understand on my own. I live in Cairo and the news comes tumbling out of the radio in Arabic. We stand in the kitchen and my friend chooses words and phrases in Arabic that ...